I’ve been reading the responses to this forum and can’t emphasize how helpful they’ve been. I’m getting ready to apply for GTV through exceptional promise and would greatly appreciate assistance in reviewing my evidences. I am currently the marketing and communications manager at a Fintech startup and have been in the fintech industry for about 2+ years. I worked at my first startup for 11 months before moving on to my current company where I have been for 1 year and 8 months.
Recommendation Letters
CTO at the fintech where I currently work as the marketing and comms manager.
CTO at a previous fintech where i was also the marketing and comms lead
CEO of another fintech who is currently on the board of directors at my the current company
Personal Statement Resume
Mandatory Evidence
Employment contract with salary information - including half and end of the year bonuses and equity options
Published article in one major media
Reference letter from my CEO of current company
Reference letter from a Head of Growth in a fintech who is also a marketing leader in fintech and took the Tech Nation visa route last year
OC 2
Evidence of op-ed articles in two different media
Contribution to a Fintech Growth & Marketing Handbook + Evidenced by email invitation and screenshots of book excerpts (although this isn’t officially out yet)
OC 3
Document explaining my contribution to the growth of the company this will include marketing analytics dashboard showing - digital growth, leads generated, new users acquired, ad views and clicks, traffic acquisition.
Reference letter from COO at the fintech company i currently work corroborating my documents
Reference letter from the Head of People Operations at fintech company i currently work corroborating my documents
You evidence are mainly reference letters. Reference letters alone are not sufficient. Have you shown that you are a potential leader. Was the articles about your work? When did you publish the articles in OC2 and MC? Does the article show thought leadership? Aside your colleagues and employers do you have other people in the industry that can write a reference for you?
Thanks a lot for your feedback. On my evidence being mainly reference letters: are you referring to mainly my evidences in OC3 and MC? If so, should i consider sticking to one reference letter in addition to the documents detailing how I contributed to company growth in OC3 or should i replace one of the references with someone else in the industry? What else do you think i can add under MC asides reference letter?
On articles i only started publishing late last year/early this year and I think they show thought leadership / contribution to my field through publication. For example, I have one titled: A solopreneur’s mini-guide to growing product acceptance and business success.
I do have people in the industry that can write reference for me, which of the criteria do you think I should add this to?
Do you have evidence of speaking or participating in other community-led events that advance the sector. The articles are recent so it may not show sustained contribution. check the tech nation guide for examples. OC3 seems OK but MC and OC2 could be better. I have seen published articles rejected because f the timing of the publication.
I applied in Sept but didn’t get it on the basis that my OC2 evidences were not sufficient, then I reapplied again on Jan 15th and I just got my endorsement letter today, Jan 25th. This is what my final evidence looks like
3 INDUSTRY RECOMMENDATION LETTERS:
CTO at the Fintech company I work at
Co-founder & CTO of an Edutech company in Nigeria
Head of Growth at Fintech in the US
PERSONAL STATEMENT
PROFESSIONAL RESUME
[MANDATORY CRITERIA] How do I demonstrate that I have been recognised as (or recognised as having the potential to be) a leading talent in the digital technology sector?
Mandatory Criteria Evidence 2 - [Features & Spotlight] - I Was spotlighted as one of 30 Nigerian women in tech who are challenging the status quo, I was also spotlighted as a member of the Tech Marketers Hub, a community for marketers within the digital technology space providing access to mentorship and opportunities to community members, I was also spotlighted as a leading woman in technology etc.
Mandatory Criteria Evidence 3 - [Published Editorial Pieces] - I have 2 published pieces in notable media
Mandatory Evidence 4 - Reference Letter by Head of Growth at Fintech in the US (same recommendation letter)
[OPTIONAL CRITERIA 2] How do I demonstrate that I have been recognised for my work outside of my immediate occupation that contributed to the advancement of the sector?
Optional Criteria 2 Evidence 1 [Evidence of Contributing to a Growth Marketing Book, Evidence of me as a guest tutor/speaker at 2 product-growth talent academies]
Optional Criteria 2 Evidence 2 [2 Speaking Engagements ] - link to me speaking at the events on stage + reference letters from the organiser + a snapshot from the official event pages displaying me as one of the speakers + direct links, a snapshot of the event agendas which shows my topic + snapshots of the presentation slides of my talk
[OPTIONAL CRITERIA 3] How do I demonstrate a significant technical, commercial or entrepreneurial contribution to the field as a founder, senior executive, board member or employee of a product-led digital technology company?
Optional Criteria 3 Evidence 1 - [Reference Letter by CEO of current company]
Optional Criteria 3 Evidence 2,3,4 [3 separate documents detailing my contribution to the growth of the company including ] - Analytics dashboard of new users/traffic acquisition/clicks, digital growth, leads generated etc)
Hi @musman2012 thank you! I provided a snapshot of the official email informing me of the equity option. This email included the equity details in terms of capital value etc. I also made sure the reference letter from my CEO corroborated that i have equity in the company. Hope that helps.
Thank you for sharing. I am glad you found my feedback useful. Looking back you must have seen the difference in your previous application that made a difference plus you gave yourself more time to tell a compelling story. All the best with stage two and settling in the UK.